The museum was localized to Varangerbotn, where the routes from the southwest, northeast and southeast of Varanger meet. The museum is situated in a relatively open landscape surrounded by birch trees. In terms of its layout, the terrain around the museum building is related to the Sami gamme homestead.

The museum is set out in a single storey, its dispersed building structure dominated by a timber-clad roof. The heights of the various sections vary and the roof surfaces are flush on all sides, like hipped roofs. Some areas of the roof are covered with turf. The exhibition area itself has a high ceiling and the building material for this core section of the building, which is also used to store exhibits, is concrete. The exterior walls are clad with vertical, dark lath panelling, with a few strongly-coloured details in Sami colours at the windows and entrance area. Both the overall design and the colour details may be said to have been inspired by Sami tradition.